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A judge has agreed to consider a request for a lower sentence filed by a Loogootee man who murdered two of his neighbors while he was a teen.
At the end of a brief hearing last week in Fayette County Circuit Court, Judge Allan Lolie said that he would take under advisement Clifford W. Baker’s request to reconsider his request.
Baker, 23, was convicted in October 2011 of fatally shooting neighbors John Michael “Mike” Mahon and Debra Tish while they slept in their Loogootee home in the early morning hours of Aug. 4, 2010.

Unless the Vandalia City Council takes action, city residents will be seeing their water and sewer rates increase by more than 7 percent.
In presenting the city’s annual audit prepared by Timmerman and Co. Ltd., Dale Timmerman told city officials that the expenses for the water and sewer systems increased by $143,321 and $73,948, respectively.
Percentage-wise, those are increases of 7.82 for water and 7.54 for sewer.

Two history-related birthdays will be celebrated in Vandalia this Saturday.
From 10 a.m.-4 p.m., the National Road Association of Illinois Interpretive Center, located at 106 S. Fifth St., will celebrate its 10th birthday.
The birthday celebration is an opportunity for area residents to visit the center and learn about the history of the National Road. Vandalia is the terminus of the road, with refreshments available.
At 1 p.m., the Vandalia Historical Society will host the annual Lincoln’s Birthday celebration at the Statehouse.

While some taxing entities are expected to receive more money than they anticipated, it is believed that a significant amount for one entity is an anomaly.
Initially, all local school districts feared that this may be a major widespread issue throughout after one district learned that it’s tax monies are much more than what they expect to get.
But Fayette County Clerk and Recorder Vicky Conder said that such a large overpayment is thought at this time to be a rare occurrence.
Any such issues, Conder said, “will be taken care of.”

Early voting will be not be allowed as of this Thursday, Fayette County Clerk and Recorder Vicky Conder said on Wednesday.
Conder said that early voting has been postponed due to an appeal filed by Scott Drury, a Democratic candidate for Illinois attorney general.
Conder said her office will inform the public through the local media once the appeal is acted on.

At a special meeting on Wednesday night, the Vandalia Board of Education voted unanimously to hire Dr. Jennifer Garrison as the district's superintendent of schools.
Garrison, a 1995 graduate of Vandalia Community High School, is currently serving as the superintendent of the Sandoval School District.
She succeeds Rich Well, who resigned from the post a couple of months ago.
Nick Casey, who is the director of the Okaw Area Vocational Center, is serving as the district's interim superintendent.